Blogs & Ecology

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit north Sulawesi in Indonesia last Monday displacing thousands of residents. A tsunami warning was also issued by the authorities.

Jessyz tagged the following post as inspirations on her blog Chocolate Mints in a Jar:

Al Ahram printed this article today, on the Egyptian Hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan.  It is a small millitary hospital in Bagram which treats Afghan patients for free, providing artificial limbs and performing opthalmology operations.  Led by Ahmed Ashry, the hospital has grown from seeing 100 patients a day to seeing and treating whoever walks in.  This is a beautiful story of what Egyptians can actually do. 

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Source: Global Voices Online

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has flared up once again: 10 years of tension, on-and-off warfare and violence have taken their toll on the population, who are being displaced yet one more time. More than 5 million people have died during this warfare, thousands of women have been raped, and thousands of children have been recruited as children soldiers. On the following videos we bring you calls for action from the DRC citizens pleading with us to take a stand to stop the humanitarian crisis in the DRC.

Konbit Pou Ayiti says that “although most of the world has moved on from the tragic stories of the four powerful storms that thrashed Haiti in August and September, Haitians certainly have not. In Gonaives, people are still living on the roofs of homes that are covered in mud. In the south and southeast, hunger that was once a part of daily life is now becoming famine…”

Blesh Family in Haiti makes a visit to the General Hospital where some of the victims of the Petionville school collapse were taken: “We are glad we went & it was nice to be able to get the kids to smile but the situation is so devastating. Many of the parents had multiple children in the school…it was heartbreaking.

On November 6^th, the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan officially crowned a new King, who was appointed almost two years ago. The fifth Dragon King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck is an Oxford educated 28 year old and the eldest son of the fourth and previous Dragon King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. His coronation ceremony was attended by political heavy weights from neighboring India-including President Ms. Pratibha Patil and entertainers from Bollywood.

Latest report from the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Staff of the International Gorilla Conservation Program (IGCP) have been evacuated from DR Congo, as things remain tense between the Congolese army and rebel militia.”

Description of life in a refugee camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Yesterday afternoon I was at the camp with Diddy, checking on our Rangers and their families. The water situation is now under control, and we have not had another outbreak of cholera since Friday.”

Nuon Phymean from Cambodia is one of the nominees for the CNN Hero of the Year Award. She has helped a lot of children in Phnom Penh by providing free education and job training.

Jacky discusses humanitarian access in Darfur, Sudan: “Media reports this week cite growing concern over ‘denial of humanitarian access’ in Darfur. Although such denial certainly exists, many of the actors being denied – in the form of travel bans, visa refusals, car-jacking, etc - are not strict ‘humanitarians,’ but a loose community of NGO’s whose right to intervene is debatable.”

For the past few years, Morocco has been experiencing a significant drought. Unfortunately, recent rain storms have brought little relief, as Northern Morocco experiences massive flooding, claiming the lives of at least 13 people.

The View From Fez recently reported on the floods:

Thirteen people have been killed in northern Morocco after their homes collapsed in flash flooding caused by torrential rains.

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Source: Global Voices Online

As the economic crisis continue to worsen, both US presidential candidates, European leaders and heads of international organizations predict that international aid will have to be reduced.

Iranian bloggers, like many other bloggers , from the four corners of the planet participated in Blog Action Day on 15th of October to talk about poverty.

Dreeam writes [fa] about families with low income who can only look at rich ones. The blogger writes:

I have pity for people around me who had dreams but now their dreams became nightmares and they have problems making a living… Oh God, why is there so much injustice in this world?

Freekeyborad writes [fa]:

Haiti Innovation wonders what's next for the hurricane-ravaged town of Gonaives, while Jamaican litblogger Geoffrey Philp focuses on a new book about Haiti.

Video Volunteers is a non-profit organization of media producers from the villages and slums in India, creating content that is relevant to themselves and screening it inside the communities, reaching thousands of people a month with news and events that affect them and call them into action.  Channel 19 is the online video channel where this media, created by and for the communities is showcased for the rest of the population.